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Jake 'The Snake' set for visit to PNG Field
By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
Jake "The Snake" Roberts has slithered his way through trials and tribulations in and out of the professional wrestling ring. He's dealt with substance abuse issues, drug addiction, alcohol problems and injuries. He's loved, lost and everything in between in his career.
"It was pure hell, beating the drugs and alcohol," Roberts said in an interview with the Mirror ahead of his appearance at PNG Field on Thursday. "If you're fighting that beast, I'll be glad to help. It destroys families and relationships and lives right. And if I can help one or two people get over it, job well done."
Now, he's focused on giving back to those in need, those who are struggling and those in the wrestling community who need his guidance and coaching.
He's currently filming a project called "Clean Slate" which is exactly what it sounds like, a program that helps people get clean and realize they have the ability for a second chance.
"It's about going out in the community and offering your help," Roberts said. "There's lots of organizations that do it, but I can give people a different slant on it and for whatever reason, I've been given quite a pedestal to speak from. A lot of people listen to me before they listen to some counselor, because I've been there."
Despite his willingness to help now, Roberts has spent most of his career enjoying being hated as part of the character he portrayed as a heel.
"I loved being hated. Are you kidding me?" Roberts said. "When you can take people on a roller coaster ride from loving you to making them hate you, going back and forth. You get them squirming in their seats, and they don't even know it."
His days as a heel aren't over. Roberts is still heavily involved in wrestling as the manager of Lance Archer for All Elite Wrestling as well as a special advisor for AEW Together, AEW's community relations arm.
Behind the scenes, Roberts works with wrestlers to improve their skills on the microphone and being interviewed, something he thrived at during his in-ring career.
"I just teach them when I got," Roberts said. "I was always very, very, very good at doing interviews. Whenever you're teaching somebody and all of a sudden they click and they get it. The job is done. Then you can watch them play with it. Doing interviews is hard. Those that have it, have it. Those that don't, dont."
Roberts will be in Altoona as part of an appearance with the Altoona Curve where he will be throwing out the first pitch and signing autographs for fans. The interactions with fans is something he looks forward to at each stop on his journey.
"I love talking to the fans," Roberts said. "They'll give me their life story about how they first saw me wrestle with their dad or grandfather. All of a sudden, you realize that you're a big part of their life. I mean, they're sitting here reminiscing about 20-30 years ago, the good old days. And that's something you're sharing with them."
With the experience Roberts has gone through in and out of the ring, those conversations aren't lost on him and genuinely mean a lot to him.
"It makes me very proud," Roberts said. "Coming from where I came from, you know how to beat the drugs, to beat the alcohol and then wind up on the top side of things. I'm extremely happy."